Save Me
by Fanfic Fish
Summary: Ryan and Trey face off . . . only Marissa, Seth, and Summer wont' be there to save him. What will happen? Will Ryan survive? Season 2 finale . . . And I now take anonymous reviews! so tell me what you thought!
1. Taking Care Of A Problem

This is my take on what would have happened . . . on the season finale if Marissa, Seth, and Summer didn't know that Ryan was going to confront Trey. (Just to let you know I changed things around, to work towards what I wanted in the story!)

Disclaimer: I Don't OwnAny Of These Characters!

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**The O.C.**

Trey's hands gripped Ryan's throat tightly. "I hate you Ryan!" Trey screamed, as tears rolled down his cheeks. Ryan felt the threads of his consciousness slipping away; he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

Trey was blinded by fury, angry that Ryan got everything and he was stuck without anything. He slowly began to gain control of his emotions as Ryan's eyes rolled into the back of his head. The older brother finally let go as Ryan fell limply onto the rough carpet.

Trey's little brother had no fight left in him, his face was an unnatural shade of purple contrasting against his azure lips. The bruises on Ryan's face steadily got darker. But none of that mattered now, Ryan wasn't even breathing anymore.

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TBC 


	2. What Now?

I'm sorry, I love to torture the big brooding ones, I can't help it:)

I hope you liked the first chapter . . . I know the chapters are short, but I'm working on making these bigger!

Enjoy . . .

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The horror finally dawned on Trey, he realized he had to act quickly. Maybe he could save Ryan. Trey worked furiously, he tilted Ryan's head back and breathed into his mouth. Ryan's chest moved up and down with the movement, but did nothing more. "Come on Ryan! Breathe!" Trey begged. Trey couldn't believe what he had just done; Ryan refused to take a breath. _I killed him!_ Trey's mind screamed at him.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting there when ragged gasps ripped Trey from his thoughts. He looked down at his baby brother, releasing a sigh of relief as he realized Ryan was finally pulling air into his lungs. "That's it Ryan, breathe for me!" Ryan was breathing shallow, but at least he was breathing.

_Should I take him to the hospital? _Trey shook his head of the thought. Taking Ryan there would be bad, people would ask questions, and he would be sent back to prison once they found out what he had just done. He clambered to his feet and pulled Ryan's limp body into his arms, _I can just keep him here until he's awake, then we can talk about this!_ Trey thought.

He walked into his room and layed Ryan on the bed. Trey winced when he saw the blood trickling from Ryan's mouth. "It's gonna be okay Ryan, everything is gonna be fine, it's just going to painful but we'll be okay, its going to be me and you for a while," Trey said not realizing the affects of the cocaine he had earlier was clouding his mind.

Trey grabbed the pair of handcuffs from his drawer that he had used at a previous excursion with the blond from the beach last week. And latched one side onto Ryan's wrist and the other to the metal bedpost. "It's just in case you wake up and try to leave little brother!" Trey assured the unconscious teen. "We'll clean you up tomorrow okay?" Trey asked not expecting an answer.

Trey's eyes were getting heavy. _Not so much next time!_ Trey berated himself for sniffing so much powder. He shut the bedroom door and walked out into the living room and dropped heavily onto the couch, where he was soon asleep.

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TBC 


	3. Where's Ryan?

Well . . . he're is chapter 3 . . .

And I took NaleyBrucasFan-aka Lizzy's advice . . . I now take Anonymous reviews . . . and I apologize to anyone who doesn't have an ID that tried to Review, (See I just barely found out that my thingy didn't accept anonymous reviews) and I changed it! So . . . yeah!

_**The Cohen's are trying to find Ryan . . . So read**_

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Cohen Household 12:30 A.M:

Seth threw his cell phone across the ground and fell back onto his bed. _Where are you Ryan?_ Seth quietly questioned. _Maybe I should tell the parental units, obviously they're gonna find out. _

Seth finally agreed with himself and walked down into the kitchen, where his parents were sitting at the island counter drinking coffee. "Isn't a little late for the old folks to be visiting caffeine land?" Seth asked as he pulled up a stool. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" Kirsten mocked innocently. Seth automatically rolled his eyes.

"Look guy's I don't want you to freak out . . ." Seth began only to be interrupted. "What's wrong, is it Ryan? Where is he?" Kirsten spat out, her motherly instincts pushing into overdrive. Seth suddenly found his shoes very interesting. "Ryan's still gone, he's _been _gone for almost 4 hours . . . I've tried to call him at least 20 times, and he isn't picking up! And frankly, I'm getting kinda skittish!"

Sandy shot to his feet and walked quickly to the phone hanging on the wall. His fingers accurately dialed the number he had long ago memorized. Sandy's hand balled into a fist, resting at his side. The newly worried father listened to the voicemail, wishing he were _really _talking to his son.

He turned to Seth and asked, "Did you call Marissa, maybe he's with her!" Seth looked up and frowned, "I already thought of that dad, she's with Summer they're having their annual weekend at the spa!"

"Then I'll call Marshall down at the precinct and maybe he can help us!" Sandy offered. Seth and Kirsten nodded in agreement, and they all lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Finally, "You don't think Ryan is with Trey do you?" Seth spoke. "I don't know Seth, maybe . . . well, I'll go with Marshall and search for him, we'll look at Trey's first!"

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Outside of the Cohen Household 1:30 A.M:

Sandy sat in front of the police cruiser, while Kirsten and Seth quickly began to get in the back. "What are you doing?" Kirsten and Seth both rolled their eyes. "We're going with you!" They replied at the same time. "You have to stay here incase he comes back!" Sandy argued. Both mother and son set they're jaws stubbornly,but nodded.

"Be careful, and if you . . . when you find Ryan, call me right away!" Kirsten demanded.The fathersmiled and assured that he would. Sandy watched with amusement as Kirsten coaxed they're stubborn curly haired son into the house.

Once he was sure that they both were inside he turned to Marshall. "What have you got for me?" Marshall frowned and replied, "Nothing, no one has seen him since 8:30 this evening!" Marshall watched as Sandy angrily cracked his knuckles. "Sandy, what if this kid is just blowing off steam, maybe he lost track of time and his cell phone died!" Marshall asked showing no hint of mercy.

Sandy looked up sharply and replied through clenched teeth, "This is _MY_ son, and I _HAVE_ a bad feeling . . . he's a good kid, and I'm worried okay?" Marshall realized his mistake and backtracked, "I'm sorry Sandy . . . look we'll go talk to his brother, and maybe he can give us some answered okay?" Sandy nodded and laid back onto the seat, clenching his eyes tightly, he made a pact with god, _Please let him be okay!_

_

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_

TBC


	4. Convincing

Enjoy . . .

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A loud ringing pulled Trey back into awareness. He sat up quickly feeling disoriented, he looked around. _Ryan._ The oldest Atwood got to his feet and hurried to the phone. "Hello?" he spoke tiredly.

"Trey? This is Sandy Cohen," a worried voice filtered onto the phone. "Oh, hey Mister Cohen," Trey said trying to hide his displeasure. He looked towards his bedroom door. _Ryan is in there, probably unconscious. But it's gonna be okay, I'll convince him to stay with me. Then we can put this whole thing behind us._

"Have you seen Ryan at all? He's really scaring us, he wont pick up his cell phone, and we've looked everywhere!" Sandy spat out, not once taking a breath. He waited patiently for an answer.

"You lost my brother?" Trey spoke into the phone. He hoped that Sandy wouldn't catch him in the lie. Trey paced all over the room, trying his best not to bite he fingernails.

"Look Trey, I know what this may sound like . . . but we had a bit of a disagreement this evening and he took off, he's been missing since around 8:30!" Sandy guiltily admitted.

Trey smiled at the last comment, he could use that against Sandy. Maybe he could convince Sandy to stay away from here. "You yelled at my brother, and didn't stop him when he left? What kind of person are you?" Trey accused.

"Please just call me if you see him okay? I'm with a good friend of mind, a police officer . . . and we're going to search for him, I'm sure he'll turn up!" Sandy said not sure of how the older Atwood would take it.

Trey had done it; he convinced Sandy that he was worried. "Yeah Mister Cohen, I'll call if he comes here, but I couldn't imagine why he would . . . we got into a fight a couple days ago!" Trey looked at his feet trying to come up with a good lie. "He was angry with me, but if he does come by you'll be the first person I call!" Trey then held his breath waiting for a response.

"Thanks, and I'll call you when we find him, which I'm sure will be soon!" Sandy assured him. "And if by some chance we don't find him by later today, we may come down to your apartments . . . you know, just in case!" Sandy told him.

The two spoke for a few more minutes and finally Trey hung up the phone. He sighed and leaned heavily back onto the wall, the cool surface felt good against his hot skin.

He trudged into the bathroom and took a look at himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, thanks to the cocaine he had sniffed hours ago. The only visible injury that Ryan had left on him were three fingernail marks across his face. They would easily pass for getting into a fight at the bar, maybe he could convince people that he was helping a drunk woman to her car and . . .

A loud moan pulled him from his silent reverie. Trey walked into his room to see Ryan rolling around restlessly. _At least he's not unconscious anymore._ He walked to the bed and grabbed onto both of Ryan's shoulders, and held him still. "Ryan!" Trey shouted trying to pull him from his nightmare.

* * *

Ryan's eyes snapped open, once his eyes laid upon who was shaking him, he tried his hardest to get away. He pushed Trey back with all of his might, and even with one arm handcuffed to the bedpost he was able to knock Trey off of his feet.

Dizziness enveloped the youngest Atwood; he rested back against the bed praying that the room would stop spinning. Nausea filled all of his senses and he knew that it would take nothing short of a miracle to keep him from expelling the items in his stomach.

* * *

Rage pushed into Trey's senses. He gazed back up at Ryan and felt only a hint of remorse when Ryan couldn't even hold himself up. His brother swayed back and forth on the bed, a sound of utter surprise stealing his voice.

Trey found his feet and stood up. He sat down on the bed and looked at his brother, Ryan's eyes were closed again, and he was in the land of unconsciousness. "It's going to be okay Ryan, we're gonna be fine!" Trey spoke quietly, noticing that Ryan's head wound had reopened and was bleeding heavily.

Trey found a dirty T-shirt on the floor, sopped up the new blood from Ryan's face. "We're gonna be fine!" He began again. "You'll see!"

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TBC 


	5. In Too Deep

**Okay . . . I need to explain some things, At the beginning of this story I wrote "I made some changes to the Season Finale," (Obviously, I put a twist on how I wanted things to happen!) In other words . . .Kirsten is NOT in rehab! I didn't like how it affected the family environment, who knows I may write a story about that . . . **

Here is the next Chapter!

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Sandy Cohen leaned heavily back onto the seat, he never thought things would happen like this. It was near 7:00 a.m. And Ryan was still missing; no one had seen him and the police force had come up empty. 

Seth had called at least 2 dozen times, asking of they had found anything new. Seth had told him that Marissa and Summer were angry at him for not calling them right away. Sandy had smiled at that, the girls were worried sick, that made him feel worse.

He had tried to call Trey several times in the past few hours, but no one picked up. Now he was no his way down there.

Sandy was a little antsy; Marshall wasn't with him he was doing this alone. The oldest Cohen picked up his cell phone to call Trey one more time. It was ringing.

* * *

"Yeah?" Trey talked into the phone, feeling slightly wheezy from the after effects of his cocaine. No sleep had come that night; Trey had sat next to Ryan the entire night he had to make sure he kept breathing. Ryan had gained consciousness in his feverish haze. 

Trey remembered everything Ryan had said to him . . .

**__**

Flashback:

"What's going on?" The whisper had been so low Trey had barely caught it. Trey had watched as Ryan slowly remembered everything, the horror, and the pain. Two huge blue eyes stared back at the older Atwood; shock had registered the most in Ryan's eyes.

Trey knew he should take Ryan to the hospital, one could only imagine how messed up Ryan was. Trey had tried to reason with Ryan telling him that the thing with Marissa was an accident, and that she wasn't worth it. Ryan began to yell and scream for help, but he wasn't loud enough in his condition.

Trey couldn't take any chanced though, so he acted quickly; he had gagged his own brother, he had luckily found another pair of handcuffs in that ugly stained drawer, he had long ago forgotten the name of the girl who had given them to him. And he handcuffed Ryan's other hand to the headboard, to prevent him from taking out the gag.

He knew that if he couldn't convince Ryan, he'd either be looking at a murder charger, or kidnapping at best.

Ryan had begun fighting tooth and nail again, but he often would run out of energy and start swaying unnaturally in his sitting position on the bed, and when he finally got enough energy he would start fighting again.

Trey did the only thing he could think of . . . he injected heroin into Ryan's arm. To his dismay Ryan's eyes had glossed over in record time. Ryan swayed back and forth at a sickly rate; Trey could barely stand to look at him when he did so.

Finally Ryan had passed out, and Trey watched his chest move up and down. It was then that Trey had realized the he could keep Ryan quiet by using small dosages of heroin. _That might work. _Trey reasoned.

* * *

_**End Of Flashback:**_

"Trey, it's Sandy Cohen again, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past few hours!" Sandy spoke tiredly.

Trey had to think of an explanation quick, "Oh, I was . . . looking for Ryan!" _He has to believe that one._

Sandy smacked his forehead. _Of course he was looking for Ryan, he's his brother!_ "Of course, sorry my mind has escaped me this morning. Have you found him?" He bit his lip waiting for an answer.

Trey looked down at his feet, looking for a quick believable answer. "No, nobody has seen him. Although some of his old friends said they'll keep they're eyes pealed, and spread the word!"

"That's good, well that's not good . . . I mean we haven't found him yet and it's a relief that the word is going out," Sandy tripped over his words, wishing for a cup of coffee to wake him up. "Anyway, I'm on my way down to your apartment, the police are suppose to search all of the possible places he might go," Sandy paused for a second. "They think . . . that someone has kidnapped him, they told us that it seems to the most plausible answer for his sudden disappearance."

Trey took in a sharp breath. Sandy couldn't come here, he would find Ryan, and then Trey would be screwed. Maybe he could hide Ryan.

"The police are searching all possible homes, and they told me that I could search your apartment since you don't trust the law enforcement," Sandy shot into the phone.

"How far are you away from my apartment?" Trey asked, rubbing his forehead. "20 minutes, 25 at the most." Trey let out his breath. "Okay, then I'll see you in a few!" He quickly hung up the phone and darted towards his room.

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I know I'm torturing Ryan, but it's soooo fun! 

TBC


	6. Hiding

Well here is the next Chapter 

Enjoy . . .

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Sandy snapped his cell phone shut; Trey had brushed him off quickly. _But that could easily be explained,_ Sandy thought reasonably. _Trey was worried about his brother._

Just as he stopped at a red light his cell phone rang. He quickly picked up and pushed the power button, hoping that it would be someone with new of Ryan.

"Hello?" he asked anxiously.

"Hey dad," Seth spoke with a loud yawn. Seth was tired but how could he possible think of sleeping when his brother had been kidnapped?

Of course everyone assured him that Ryan had just went on a walk to blow off some steam. Well that was a load of . . . well it was a lie, that's all he knew. He hadn't slept since he had discovered Ryan was missing. What kind of brother would he be if he had?

"Seth, you should be sleeping!" Sandy tried to speak fiercely to his son. He knew Seth was worried sick, and he knew if something were to happen to Ryan, it would just kill him.

"How can I sleep? Ryan's been kidnapped!" Seth hitched into the phone with incredible stamina.

Sandy rolled his eyes; he didn't want to even think about if Ryan had been abducted. He would gladly pay everything he had ever made in his entire life to get any one of his family members out of harms way.

"Where are you anyway?" Seth asked curiously. "Mom's already gonna kill you for not coming home last night . . . or would that be early this morning?"

Sandy smiled, that was Seth's logic. He had obviously gotten that from his mothers' side. "Well she's gonna have to wait, I'm on my way to Trey's apartment, he's been looking for Ryan too, but no one had seen him!"

"Well, when you get any info . . . call me! Or I'll call you! Is ten minutes okay?" Seth asked innocently.

Sandy chuckled, that was his son. "How about a half hour, I'm still 20 minutes away from Trey's apartment." Sandy waited patiently for his son's reply.

"I guess I can wait that long," Seth chimed into the phone.

Father and son both said they're good-byes and hung up the phone. And Sandy's attention turned back onto the road.

* * *

Trey snapped his bedroom door open. He had only twenty minutes to get Ryan into a suitable hiding place.

Ryan was unconscious, although he looked as if he was only in deep sleep. Trey pushed his appearance aside, once Sandy left he would clean his brother up.

Trey rummaged around his drawer, relief flooding through him once he found the key to the handcuffs. He leaned over his younger brother, and unlatched the handcuff that held his wrist prisoner.

Trey wondered if he had given Ryan too much heroin. _Was he supposed to be sweating like that?_ _Was his face supposed to be that shade of gray? _He couldn't ponder on that situation right now; he had to hide Ryan. _But where?_

Finally a thought had come to mind, _The trunk of my car! _But that would cause suspicion; and he was running out of time. Then he remembered, the floorboards in his closet were loose, and there was a crawlspace just big enough to fit Ryan into.

Another problem had just arisen what if Ryan awoke during Sandy's search? He'd have to make sure that if Ryan did awake that he wouldn't be heard.

He made sure that Ryan's gag was securely, then he dragged him over the closet, where he laid his brother down next to the doors.

Prying the floorboards up wasn't easy, but finally they had popped up. The space was big enough for Ryan to completely stretch out. Ryan was dropped carefully into the space, and then his hands were handcuffed together behind his back

Trey glanced at his watch and decided that Ryan could take another dosage of heroin. The sound of the syringe tearing through Ryan's arm was sickening, but the job had to be done.

He placed the boards back over the hole, and quickly scurried to the living room. Ryan's blood was in the carper and he had to cover it. Once he found an extra rug, he covered the spatters of blood.

He'd have to change the bed sheets in his room; Ryan had bled all over them last night. Once the job was done, he sulked back into the bathroom and took a look in the mirror again. He decided he was presentable. And he quickly found his stash of cocaine, so before he hid it, he took a long sniff. That would hold him over until later that night.

The doorbell rang just in time; everything was perfectly hidden, including his baby brother.

* * *

TBC 


	7. Alone

Okay . . . #1: I nevermentioned the amount of heroin Trey was giving Ryan, and it can take DIFERENT amounts of heroin to kill a person, it's human anatomy . . . it looks like some people didn't pay attention in Health class! Naughty, Naughty!

So Enjoy

* * *

"Hello Sandy!" Trey spat out nervously.

Sandy smiled, but was hard to believe when the man had dark rings under his eyes.

"Good morning Trey," Sleep was something Sandy couldn't and wouldn't think about right now.

Sandy felt uncomfortable; he had to search Trey's apartment. That meant he had to go threw his personal property.

He had never had a problem searching through Seth or Ryan's stuff; it was a part of parenthood. And invading his son's privacy was fully in his rights.

He remembered when Ryan and Seth had snuck out to go to a party last year. Of course they knew, but it was so easy to go snooping, so him and Kirsten had let it slide.

They had giggled at the boy's journals. Seth's was dedicated to Summer, and Ryan's was deeper and he had often complemented the Cohen's.

Trey needed to get Sandy out of here quickly. "Well Mister Cohen, you can look anywhere . . . but I'm need to be getting down to Fresno to see if Theresa has seen him."

Sandy nodded, Trey was really trying to find Ryan. Maybe he wasn't such a bad influence after all. "Okay, well I'll try to hurry and get out of your way."

Sandy began his journey through the poolhouse-sized apartment. It was messy, but not enough to hide a bulky teenaged boy. After his search was done, he thanked Trey. Ryan wasn't there. What a relief, but as he left, a feeling of unease had creeped into his senses. And as hard as tried he couldn't shake it.

After saying goodbye to Trey, he was off again searching for his son.

Trey was wiped, he laid, he dragged his body over to the sofa and he plopped down. He needed to rest for a few minutes . . . only a few. Then he would go take Ryan out of the hole before he could suffocate.

Pain, excruciating pain. Even in the midst of unconsciousness, Ryan had felt it.

He had been tormented for the last few hours with nightmares, memories of what the last night had brought him.

It had taken him at lest twenty minutes to get enough strength to open his eyes. It was either pitch black or he had gone blind, neither of those answers settled well with him.

His head felt as if someone had played the drums on it. He tried to bring his hand up to his head, but a clanking sound and his other hand followed him.

It was then that he realized his brother had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure he didn't get loose.

He never thought of himself being claustrophobic, put the dinky space had proven him wrong. Even though it was dark he felt everything start to spin. Trying to pull in air was impossible to do at with the gag securely in place.

Nausea was filling his hazy mind; he was going to be sick if all the spinning didn't stop. He tried to move his arms; maybe if he could bang on wherever he was someone could hear and come save him.

Why was everything numb? Was he going to die in this little coffin-like hole?

As he became more aware he panic couldn't be contained. Ryan was breathing rapidly, but had little oxygen to help his starving lungs.

Suddenly he was lightheaded, the spinning was worse. _I'm gonna die here! _His mind screamed.

The last thing he saw before he passed out was himself with the Cohen's, his family.

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TBC 


	8. Remembering

Well here is the next Chapter,

Enjoy . . .

* * *

_Our envy of others devours us most of all. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn:_

Trey sat up quickly and rubbed his forehead. How long had he slept? It was dark outside, which would mean that he definitely overslept.

He was disoriented; the cocaine had something to do with that, he was sure.

Something tugged at his senses, had he forgotten something? Was it important?

Remembering things were not his strong suit, especially after a visit to the cocaine fairies.

His knew dealer had set him up with some magic stuff, it had heightened his senses and it made him feel like he was on top of the world.

The downside to this drug was mass confusion, and anger. He had overdosed before, his anger hadn't left him, and he was deathly sick for the entire week after.

His anger had kept him alive though; no one would try to mess with someone with a crowbar that sat proudly in his passenger side seat.

But the only thing that bothered Trey now, was a feeling complete loathing for himself.

He had promised, over and over that cocaine would not hold to him ever again. He had failed, he was worse than before. His growing dependency was clouding everything, his life was in shambles.

And as he berated himself, the inkling in the back of his mind pushed harder, and now he was feeling even more uneasy. The last thing he wanted to do was to forget something that could potentially screw him over.

Maybe he had forgotten to pay his dealer. It couldn't have been that though; he HAD paid them after he cashed his check.

He racked his brain. It finally came to him,

"_Ryan." _The words were spoken in a whisper.

How could he have forgotten his baby brother, sure he could remember where he put his cocaine, but when it came to Ryan, some things about him had slipped.

Adrenaline was all he ran on now.

What good would it be if Ryan was dead, he would go back to prison. He would have absolutely no one in this god awful world.

He WAS bitter; he'd be the first to testify to it. And with it, a hatred for everyone who had something to live for had grown with it. And with that, anger for Ryan- his own flesh and blood, had been born.

When they were little, Ryan had been the 'fruit' of Chino and he was going somewhere. To this day he really had gone somewhere; he had a family that would support him, that would be his salvation.

He opened the door and walked into his room, he really needed to clean it. His clothes were strewn across the floor and totally encompassed his bed. Cartons from various restaurants had their own place too.

He was dizzy, and he was nauseous. But what was worst was that in the far reaches of his mind, he hoped Ryan was dead.

Cause if Ryan was dead, then this whole thing would be over. He would hide the body in the woods or some secluded place where no one would ever find him.

Ryan Atwood would become just another hopeless missing person's case that was never solved. The Cohen's would be devastated, but they would eventually get over it. And if they never did, then they would become just another troubled rich family.

He opened the closet doors, and got to his knees. The floor was bare in the closet, the wooden planks held true.

The little space was the only clean space in the room; he would have to work hours to see the wooden floor again. Even if he were to clean it, it would be messy again in a week.

The floorboards were lifted carefully.

Trey couldn't decipher whether Ryan was still breathing. After manhandling Ryan under the armpits, Trey used all the energy he had left to pull Ryan from the dark dank whole in the floor.

Ryan's head lolled uselessly against his older brothers' chest.

Trey checked Ryan's pulse, it was thumping against his fingers. His breathing was a bit worrisome though. It was erratic, and shallow.

He pulled the gag off and looked at his brother with sympathy.

Ryan needed medical care that never in a thousand years Trey could ever provide.

He knew Ryan would never consent to leaving the Cohen's, Trey knew he was screwed.

And for more hours than Trey could ever remember, he held his brother against him and prayed that one day, god would forgive him for what he was about to do.

* * *

TBC 


	9. Crossing The Line

Here is the next Chapter . . .

Enjoy . . .

* * *

Sandy Cohen pulled into his driveway. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face wearily.

His contacts were exhausted, but they all were still searching.

It took a while but Marshall had finally convinced Sandy to go home and get some rest. Sandy was assured that he would be the first called if Ryan was found, he would only be called second if Ryan needed medical attention.

He closed the door of the car with a loud _CLICK._ With his head low, he strode to the door.

"Sandy!" Kirsten chirped when her exhausted husband walked through the door.

He didn't smile with confidence today; he had no hope left.

_Maybe Ryan really left_. Sandy quickly shook his head. They were his family, and even though Ryan was a heavy brooder, he wouldn't leave without word of some sort. Or surely he would have told Seth if he were angry.

"No word?" Kirsten asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nothing, I've been to every bus station and airport in Orange County, no one has seen him." Sandy said glumly.

"Sandy, what if something had happened to him, what if he's lying unconscious somewhere. What if he's already dea . . ."

Sandy quickly silenced her with a strong embrace before she could finish her worst fears.

"He's not dead, we're gonna find him." Sandy promised with grim determination.

Kirsten nodded in his arms, all the while breaking down. She couldn't be strong anymore, she need her son back home safe.

"Where's Seth?" Sandy asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's out with Summer and Marissa, they're trying to get a group of teenagers together. They're all going to search the teens of Orange County's 'secret hideouts'" Kirsten replied, wiping her eyes of tears.

"Sandy, you don't look good, go lay down maybe you can get few hours of sleep in." Kirsten coaxed Sandy like she often did to Seth.

"No can do sweetie, I just came back for a much needed shower, then I'm off again. I'm going to head down to Fresno, Trey said he talked to Theresa, but I have to be sure." Sandy replied with a small hint of a smile.

"Well I'm coming with you!" Kirsten spoke determined.

"No your not, I will not worry about you too!" Sandy said, his worry and frustration coming out.

"You will not tell me what to do Sandy! He is my son too, and I've sat here for almost two days worrying about Ryan, it's my turn to go help." Kirsten shouted.

Sandy tried hard to remain angry, but he found himself trying to hide a smile. That was his Kirsten, no one was going to tell what she could and couldn't do. "Fine!" was all Sandy managed to get out.

Kirsten smiled softly, she was going to enjoy her triumphant win over her husband later.

"If she's going, I'm going!" The voice boomed from the living room, soon followed by the door slamming shut.

Sandy rolled his eyes. Seth was just as determined as his mother, he knew if would be moronic to argue with that curly headed teenager, but he had to try anyway.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Seth." Sandy pleaded with his son.

"Nice try dad, but if the woman is going . . . so is the son." Seth replied.

"Where is Summer and Marissa anyway?" Kirsten asked, coming to stand next to her boys.

"Summer said I was too grouchy, and that I needed to sleep. And Marissa had the nerve to tell me that I babble more when I'm tired then when I'm well rested!" Seth got out in one breath.

Kirsten laughed. It was true; Seth had this way of spitting out nonsense when he was disoriented. But that no way compared to how much more Seth could talk when he was only slightly tired.

"I wonder how she got that idea," Kirsten spoke in pure innocence.

Seth rolled his eyes, and made his way to the fridge.

"I'll be down in five minutes," Sandy called as he made his way up the stairs.

The family sat quietly in the car as they made their way down to Fresno. Each of them was worrying about their missing family member.

A wet feeling woke Ryan.

It took a few seconds for him to get his bearings. His head was muddled; he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Someone was holding him fiercely against them; they're tears dripped down on his arms. It was hard for him to breathe; he was in so much pain.

"Trey?" he asked in a whisper.

A sudden jerk from the person jarred his sore ribs, elicting a moan from him.

"Ryan?" The voice sounded congested.

The voice, it was indeed his brother. He closed his eyes, more memories flashed before him. His brother held him down, griping his throat angrily.

"Get away from me," Ryan said as loud as he could. Ryan tried hard to pry the arms that were holding him in a death grip away. But the more he tried, the tighter the hold got, until Ryan was gasping hard for air.

"I'm sorry Ryan!" Trey pleaded. Ryan was weak; it didn't take much to over throw his younger brother. Ryan couldn't fight off a ten-year-old.

Trey let go of Ryan, who dropped down to the floor, too weak to hold himself up.

Trey lifted his foot and slammed it down across Ryan's forehead.

Ryan's head fell limply to the ground.

Trey had to get Ryan out of here; he couldn't very well kill Ryan here.

He lifted his unconscious brother over his arm, and carried him out the door.

* * *

TBC 


	10. Nightmares

I know, I know . . . I was so good at updated frequently, but I kind of fell off of the ladder with the whole up-to-date thing. I apoligize, and I promise I'll update quickly this time!

Enjoy . . .

* * *

Trey shot up off the couch.

He looked around confused. _What the hell just happened?_

His hands went up to his face and rubbed at his eyes.

The room was spinning it was distorted. And even though the pale light from the lamp was comforting, he knew who was behind that damn oak door . . . Ryan.

He had just hallucinated; he had succeeded in killing his brother. The nightmare was still fresh in his mind.

Shaking his head, Trey got to his feet and went into his room.

He sighed heavily when he opened the door, his room looked exactly as he had envisioned it in his nightmare, only this time he knew he wouldn't be saying goodbye to Ryan. Thank God.

It took a lot of strength not to go looking for his stash of cocaine, because in all the chaos, confusion, and nightmares . . . Trey had forgotten where he had placed the white powder.

A chill ran through his spine as he remembered more of the horrid nightmare. It had felt as if he was on the outside looking in, he had watched as his double hurt his brother.

He would never do that, would he? Well of course he had already succeeded in beating the crap out of Ryan, but not extensively as the other guy who looked so much like him had done.

Trey walked hurriedly walked over to the closet.

What if the nightmare wasn't a dream? What if he had really killed Ryan?

Trey was on his knees and pulling up floorboards as record speed. "Thank God!" Trey said out loud.

Ryan looked like death warmed over; he definitely looked worse than when he had seen him last, which was only a few hours ago.

Dry blood was encrusted on his face; it didn't go well with the ugly white pallor his baby brother was sporting with his skin. The bruises were oddly comforting, it was the only hint of darkness on his brothers' throat.

It was even more disconcerting when he turned his brothers' head; the ugly gash that Trey had made by slamming the phone into Ryan's temple was massive. It was after that incident that Trey had choked his brother, had killed him.

How could he have done that? Trey berated himself, he remembered.

Marissa, he had fallen hard for the girl, but of course the boy in Chino had become a man in prison. And the troubled girl from the O.C. had already found her knight in white shining armor, his little brother.

Anyhow, Trey pushed all the angry feelings and the self-loathing, and that damned nightmare . . . he sucked up his problems and pulled Ryan from his prison.

At the movement Trey felt Ryan's body go rigid, even in Ryan's oblivion he could feel the pain.

Trey had to ignore his brothers' attempts to push away the pain; he had to get Ryan to the bathroom. Maybe cleaning him up would relieve some of the pain.

Trey reminisced on the fact that Ryan had seemed to be in less agony when he was hyped up on heroin. Trey had to forget about that little detail. If he were to give Ryan any more of the stimulant he would be looking at an almost definite overdose.

He drug Ryan's unnaturally limp body into the bathroom, and set him down carefully on the linoleum.

Trey tried not to jar Ryan's stomach, knowing his ribs would be sore from the many penny shots he took at him during their brawl. He took the key from his pocket and removed Ryan's bindings including his gag.

Pulling off Ryan's shirt was not an easy task. Ryan had begun moaning and groaning in pain, along with him withering on the floor, still in the clutches of his hellish nightmares.

It had only taken five minutes for the warm water to fill the bathtub. And Ryan was now stripped down to his boxers.

Trey did not want to see his little brother naked. Sure he remembered having to take baths with Ryan when he was younger, but that was only because his mother was too plastered to risk having to watch both children at separate times, making sure they didn't drown.

And seeing his brother naked would absolutely be a no-no back in Chino. Not to mention if Ryan was in the land of the living he would be screaming for some clothes right about now.

Taking his time Trey lifted Ryan into the tub. He sat on the seat of the toilet and watched his brothers head loll back and forth against the rim on porcelain tub.

Trey washed the dried blood from Ryan's face as best he could, even though it was hard when sometimes Ryan's head would slip into the water and Trey would have to fish him out before he drowned.

After he was done, Trey dried Ryan off and managed to slip a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt on him.

The older brother didn't bother on putting Ryan's bindings back on, that was only a precaution for when Sandy had stopped by, minus when he was on his cocaine high in his bedroom the night before.

Ryan now rested peacefully under his heavy wool blankets, hopefully tomorrow would be a new day.

* * *

TBC, And thanks for your reviews! 


	11. Authors Note Please Read!

**ATTENTION EVERYONE: **

I am Fanfic Fish . . . and I would like to inform everyone that I've had some complaints about my GRAMMAR in this story,

So I was wondering, if anyone out there knows how I would aquire a BETA . . .

Or . . . if anyone who reads this would like to help me correct any errors with the upcoming Chapters then just let me know.

And this site won't let me post my e-mail on here . . . so just write your e-mail in the review section, and I'll get back to you!

Thanks, Fanfic Fish!


	12. Long Drive

Here is the next Chapter!

Enjoy . . .

* * *

Sandy had to fight not to turn around and smack Seth in the back of the head. The teenage boy had been babbling about absolutely nothing for the past hour. At first it was comforting to hear that the boy had not yet lost his sense of . . . 'Seth logic'. Sandy had often wondered about how Ryan could possibly stand hours upon hours of Seth's musings.

"Seth, if you keep talking like that your going to lose your voice," Sandy prayed that this would at least shut the boy up, or if he was lucky it could possibly confuse the boy into silence. He waited patiently for his son to answer.

Sandy was absolutely flustered when heard Seth's babble continue. He looked over at his wife to see her grinning madly at him, she could read him like a book and she knew what he was thinking at that moment.

"He gets that trait from your side of the family you know!" Kirsten defended. It was hard not to start giggling like a schoolgirl. She knew a long time ago that her son would be marvelous at talking anyone in earshot's head off. Sandy and herself had often found themselves having playful arguments about what traits that their belated son had gotten from which side of the family. And indeed both sides of the gene pool had cursed them forever.

Sandy looked over at his wife, she grinned widely and showing off her pearly whites. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't think so, I do believe he speaks like your Aunt Miriam, he definitely does not get that little annoying trait from my family. Us Cohen's have an absolutely flawless gene pool thank you very much!"

Kirsten lost it; she was laughing so hard she snorted. It wasn't soon after that, that Sandy started chuckling. Good times, times without frustration and without pain. Sandy thought back to when he brought Ryan home, Kirsten had been furious. It wasn't like Sandy was bringing home a stray dog; this was a boy, a young man, and a juvenile delinquent. But that lost boy . . . had become their son.

It took a good few minutes to get themselves under control, but they were able to do so in record time. At that moment, both parents realized that Seth had stopped speaking.

Kirsten looked back cautiously; hopefully Seth hadn't heard their little conversation.

Seth was eyeing both parents suspiciously. Just leave it to the parental units to start losing their minds in a time of crisis. His mom had snorted, that thought alone had brought shivers down the curly-haired boy's back. Mothers don't snort, they aren't even supposed to laugh . . . are they? And his dad was . . . chuckling, what had the world come to?

"Okay, maybe both of you should come sit in the back and I'll drive, I actually want to make it home in one piece!" the boy spoke half-heartedly. Really he just wanted to drive, that way he wouldn't have to hear dad's infamous show tunes. Anyone who has ever had to ride a long distance with that man had had to go through mass amounts of agony. 'The Sound Of Music' was one of Seth's father's favorite plays, so naturally the man had bought the music that went with it.

"I'm fine Seth," Sandy told him. Sheesh, that boy had no shame he could just come out and say anything. Sandy smiled to himself, it was part of Seth's charm to talk without thinking, it was like his mind ran on auto-pilot.

An uncomfortable silence settled in the car. Seth no longer felt like talking, he was to busy worrying about his brother. Ryan protected him from everything bad, Ryan was his brother, and he did what brothers do, he protected Seth. Seth closed his eyes and layed his head back on the headrest and let out a frustrated sigh. "Where are you Ryan?" Seth mumbled.

The Cohen's were still a good half-hour away from Chino, and Seth was getting even more impatient. No one would ever understand how it felt to sit in a car going thirty-five miles an hour in a sixty-mile an hour zone on the freeway, until they had stepped into a car with Sandy Cohen. "Dad, can we pick up the speed here? I'm going to go crazy; you drive like you're turning seventy-eight tomorrow!"

Sandy rolled his eyes. He knew Seth was taking his brother's disappearance the worst, why shouldn't he? Ryan had been Seth's salvation, and in other sense, his guardian angel.

The senior Cohen found himself pushing down the gas, he had to find Ryan. It was all to clear that if he didn't then his family would fall off that damn ledge they had been before Ryan had come into their lives.

Seth let his head fall back onto the headrest. He let out a sigh of relief, his dad was picking up speed, and with any luck, Theresa may have seen Ryan. This time the curly-haired boy couldn't say quips to make everything better, he had to suffer up-front and it was killing him.

If Ryan had left because he was tired of Seth's psychobabble, Seth would gladly never speak a word again if it would make him come home. But deep inside, Seth didn't believe that his annoying talk was the reason Ryan had suddenly disappeared, deep inside he knew that Ryan was hurt, both physically and mentally.

His father spoke from the front of the car, breaking him out of his epiphany. "We're here." The car slowed down.

Seth looked to the right, the little duplex stood proudly next to its siblings of the neighborhood. He sighed deeply and got ready to become a detective, he wouldn't leave here without some answers, and he was very determined.

* * *

TBC . . . 


	13. Doing What You Should Have

I can explain . . . my computer CRASHED! Do you hear me? CRASHED . . . I now hate the phrase, 'Five to Ten buisness days'

Thank you for sticking this out with me!

Please give my BETA a round of applause! That's right Jazzergirl1, stand up and take your praise! She has helped me witha previous chapter, and I am truly grateful! Where would I be without her? I'll tell you, the gutters! So tomy BETA, a personal thanks!

Here is the next chapter!

Enjoy . . .

n waded around through the fog, reflecting on his life and his situation as he saw it now. Trey had beat the crap out of him and drugged him, hell Trey even hid him in a hole in his closet.

There was no pain in this place, but for all he knew, he could still be withering in his drugged haze. Ryan had always been dead set against drugs, but the almost immediate relief had brought him comfort.

That thought had stopped the teenager in his tracks, did he just admit to liking . . . drugs? He shook his head, Seth would never let him do drugs, and if he ever found out that he had some, Ryan knew that Seth would tear up the pool house until he found them.

He wondered if his family missed him. Did they even know he was gone?

During this entire nightmare that he had spent with his highly deranged brother, the time had never penetrated his mind or his senses. For all he knew it might have only been hours. Could he have possibly been in his hellish daze for days? His heart wrenched at that, he didn't want to think of what his brother might have done to him while he was in the throws of unconsciousnesst want to think of what his brother might have done to him while he was in the throws of unconsciousness.

Ryan remembered back to when he use to live in Chino with Trey. His older brother had often gotten violent with him after taking too much cocaine. One time in particular, when Trey had gotten home from a party, he had attacked Ryan, only thirteen at the time. The younger Atwood had been rushed to the hospital after a neighbor from their run-down apartment found him lying unconscious in the hall.

He'd been in a coma for an entire week; the doctor told him after he had woken that it was nothing short of a miracle that there was no brain damage. It was then that the doctor informed him that he had been almost bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat.

Ryan covered for his older brother by saying that a local gang had tried to recruit him, and that they had jumped him when he refused.

When he was well enough to go home, he stopped at his neighbor's house. And after thanking him, Ryan begged the man not to tell the authorities about what had really happened. The man skeptically agreed, but threatened to tell the police if it ever happened again.

Unfortunately for Ryan, the abuse continued. Although Trey had not been the cause for every injury; his mother's boyfriends played a hand at that also, to them he was only a punching bag. Trey promised Ryan that day in the hospital that he'd never snort cocaine again. What a joke! Ryan knew his brother would be doing it again. In fact, Trey was out getting tarred out of his mind only three months after the incident.

Ryan shook his head, now was not the time to dwell on his brother's empty promises. He needed to find out where he was, and more importantly if he could get out.

More memories and issues swarmed Ryan's mind, constantly reminding him that he was nothing. He was alone and he may not be going home to the people who might actually give a shit about him. Then the particular secret that had brought him to his current situation flooded Ryan's deeply dreaming mind.

Ryan was not a nosy person, and it was only by accident that he had overheard Marissa telling Summer about what Trey had done. There was no word in the entire world that could describe how angry he had been. He had wanted to kill his older brother, but would have been satisfied to merely maim him.

It angered Ryan that yet again Trey had overpowered him, had hurt him, and had almost ended his barely lived life. That realization had spurred him on, he had to fight to get out of this horrible drug and injury induced state of unconsciousness.

* * *

Ryan fought until he was exhausted. Someone was holding his hand, and whoever it was, they were talking to him. He couldn't quite make out the words, they must have been asking him a question, but it sounded like they weren't expecting him to answer.

As he came into more awareness the voice got clearer; it was his older brother.

Fighting hard to lift up his leaden eyes, Ryan mumbled incoherently, and finally forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry, obscuring Trey's features. Ryan realized that he must have startled him, because his horrified older brother let go of his hand.

Every part of Ryan's body screamed out in agony and the pain rippled harder when he tried to bring his unnaturally heavy hand to his head. The fire burning within the upper half of his body was the worst, and he feared greatly when his vision would not clear.

* * *

"Trey?" he whispered. Even though he would gladly get up and beat Trey to an inch within his life, he felt himself needing the comfort that only a brother could give him.

A cold cloth pressed firmly against his brow, relieving some of the ache that held strong.

"I'm here Ryan," Trey spoke as he gazed into his brother's overly glazed eyes. Ryan needed health care now, his fever was raging and a few of his injuries were beginning to bleed again.

He hated how Ryan was looking at him; those dilated blue eyes glaring pitifully at him. Although his younger brother didn't appear to really be seeing him, his eyes made Trey cringe openly.

It didn't matter if he was going to go to prison; he should have called for help a long time ago. He would never make that mistake again; Ryan had endured on of the worst beatings of his life and could have worse injuries than he could even dream of. A decision was made; Trey was going to do what every decent person should, and what he should have in the beginning.

He was going to take Ryan to the hospital.

* * *

Thank you for your kind reviews! TBC . . .


	14. Fresno

Hello everyone . . . thanks for sticking with me for soo long! Well here is the next chapter!

Enjoy . . .

* * *

Seth took the stairs two at a time, watching his feet to ensure that there would  
be no accidents, what he was so accustomed to. Somehow he was dreading this; he  
shook his head angrily. The teenager had been so optimistic in the car, what had  
changed? Maybe it was the fact that his lack of sleep, doubled with his horified  
dread of might not getting to see his brother ever again had finally caught up  
to him.

He sighed heavily as a pressure on his shoulder snapped him from his  
unsettling realization. Seth looked over to see his father holding his  
shoulders protectively trying to expel any doubt the young boy had.

"It's going to be okay Seth, we're going to find him. I promise," Sandy  
soothed, whispering the words into his ear.

Sandy watched as Seth's expression changed from a look of utter despair, to one  
of a mild somberness. The feeling of failure as a parent had been laughing at  
him from the shadows; the weight of the world on his shoulders was nothing  
compared to the mental anguish afflicted upon him right now.

He missed his son; it was a simple factor. He remembered when Seth went to  
summer camp as a child, Kirsten always made fun of him for his actions of that  
day. The lawyer had cried and begged the eight-year-old to stay, he had even  
tried to bribe the young boy. But to no avail, the boy put on his best 'let me  
do this' face and went to become a Wigwam for the summer.

As the years went on, Sandy hoped that when Seth and Ryan did leave home it  
wouldn't be so hard for him. No man could ever feel as wrong as he did right  
now.

Ryan wasn't just missing, he was gone without a trace and there was only the  
slight possibility that they would find him. Officers had told him repeatedly  
that the first forty-eight hours were the most crucial to locating a missing  
person, and the Cohens were moving onto the fifth day.

Sandy was getting up in his years, along with his wife. Seth and Ryan were his  
children, the very epitome of what he had spent his life working for. Both him  
and Kirsten would testify to that. So much joy had been brought when Seth was  
born, and it was only added to when Ryan came into their lives.

Kirsten watched her boys walk in the comfort of each other's company, she had  
taught them well. It took every ounce of hope to keep her from falling apart  
now. Only a mother who had been in this position before could ever understand  
that.

Sandy got to the door and pounded hard, making thumping sounds that echoed  
through the neighborhood. While waiting for an answer, Sandy looked around  
observing his surroundings. The sky was a mass of dark clouds, silently  
threatening a storm in the near future. Somehow it brought on a weird sense of  
satisfaction, the current atmosphere fitted his mood well. He wasn't happy, he  
was worried and angry. Time was running thin and he knew it, or more or less  
felt it.

Theresa opened the door, her mouth steadily dropping open at her surprise  
guests. When she finally got her bearings back, a bright smile replaced her  
uttered shocked expression.

"Oh no, it's the Cohens. Should I be worried?" she asked jokingly. Her  
eyebrows furrowed at the sad expressions that the Cohens held strongly. She  
quickly tried to backtrack, did she say something wrong? Then it dawned on her,  
no Ryan.

"Where's Ryan?" the words had stung the chilled California air.

Sandy's eyebrows went together quickly, what was she talking about? She knew  
Ryan was missing, Trey had told her. "What do you mean where is Ryan? He's been  
missing for days, Trey said that he asked you if he's been around, then told me  
that you would keep an eye out for him."

Theresa shook her head furiously, what the hell was Sandy talking about? The  
last time she had spoken two words to Trey was when he came looking for Arturo,  
which was almost three weeks ago. "Um... Mister Cohen? I haven't spoken to Trey  
in almost three weeks, I didn't know Ryan was missing."

Seth's mouth dropped open, and the realization dawned on him. What the hell was  
going on? Trey had lied, but why would he do that? Didn't he want to find Ryan,  
or did he already know where Ryan was?

Sandy felt something inside him change, it wasn't really something he could  
explain. It was like someone had opened a new door for him to walk through. Trey  
had lied, and he had been really antsy when they had last seen each other, this  
had to mean something. He had come way too far to go home with the same  
hopelessness they had come with.

"Sandy what does this mean?" Kirsten asked a little fearfully. Trey must know  
where Ryan is, why would he go to such lengths to lie if he hadn't? The  
questions kept coming, and the outcome was becoming even more gruesome as she  
thought of things his crack-head of a brother could be doing to him right now.

"I don't know, maybe there is an explanation for all of this," Sandy  
defended, trying to sort out his feelings, and dominating father instincts.

Both Kirsten and Seth gave Sandy a deathly glare that brought the quote, "If  
looks could kill," shooting into his head.

"Like hell there is!" Kirsten blared angrily, ripping the keys from Sandy's  
hand. She darted to the car, ready to leave her husband behind. "When I get my  
hands on that boy..." Kirsten mumbled as her spouse and son clambered into the  
car. She peeled away from the curb, steadily going over the speed limit.

Theresa stood in the doorway with her mouth agape, making a mental note not to  
make Mrs. Cohen angry ever.

* * *

TBC . . .


End file.
